Meditate To Feel More Love In Your Life

My yogic journey began with the study of hatha yoga. I studied it and eventually became a teacher of hatha yoga, for over 3 years. During this time I became a picture of health and my flexibility and concentration improved immensely.

After studying Hatha Yoga for years with the group I was with, I realized I couldn't make maximum progress on this path without becoming like a monk. People on this path who continued eventually gave up all signs of outward "pleasurable" attachments, such as physical intimacy, pursuit of money and families. This outward renunciation did not suit me so after a few years I continued my search and happened upon "Surat Shabd Yoga", where the renouncing was more inward. This is where I truly learned to "Love."

This "Royal Path" or Surat Shabd Yoga was, for me, heavenly. The Teachers had families, jobs, houses, cars and contributed to society like others. The renunciation was more inward, thus some royalty in the past chose to follow this path so that they could retain their kingdoms.

Surat Shabd Yoga is not a complicated yoga and feels very normal. It is a yoga that is a meditation of the Inner Sound and Light. The Sound and Light is comforting, warm and melodic. When we practice Surat Shabd Yoga properly, we feel calm and stress free.

Even though Surat Shabd Yoga, or meditation on the Inner Sound And Light, is very natural and feels very comfortable, we still have our minds to conquer. We sit in meditation and the mind literally says: you need to do your shopping; you need to pick up the kids at 3:00; you have to take Johnny here; you need to take Mary there.

The mind is the hardest part of us to settle. It thinks its job is to be in control when actually it should be a servant of our Soul which is the true leader.

There are three main ways to practice Surat Shabd Yoga meditation. I will talk about two of them here. The third is a more advanced practice. Repetition of warm, loving words or a word is the first practice. This repetition is designed to engage the mind and give it something to do. Focus on the Inner Sound and Light is the second practice, which is a little bit more advanced than the repetition.

Repetition of the word or words gives the mind something to do. It focuses the mind. We do not say the word or words out loud. We repeat the silently, to ourselves, with our mind only. The words should not make us think of some worldly event. They should not make us think at all. The goal is to train the mind to stop thinking except when we command it to do so.

Most people think meditation is hard to do. It is definitely not easy to control the mind. If we want to become a master meditator we should practice and train the mind just like muscles in the body. It is worth it. The mind is a great servant but a terrible leader. As you grow in your meditation it will become more and more enjoyable to you. You will come to love it.

We feel Love when we meditate because we come in contact with the source of Love, within us. There is a fountain of Love inside of everyone. We tap into it when we meditate. As we get deeper into our meditation, we start recognizing this same fountain of Love within everyone else. Once this happens, we start understanding that the real meaning of "Love" is total identification with that fountain of Love within all living things.